A crew from the HBO series Hard Knocks shoots warmups before drills at the Lions practice facility in Allen Park, Michigan.
AP/Aug. 10, 2022
DESPITE THE STRONG SUGGESTION of George McCaskey, the sports gods have yet to officially proclaim that “Hard Knocks” is a curse.
But the Bears chairman may have been on to something when he was expressing disdain for the possibility of the HBO anthology series being present at the current training camp in Lake Forest.
“Hard Knocks” is there and if recent history is any gauge, that’s not a good omen for Caleb Williams and the ’24 McHopefuls.
In the last 10 years, 11 NFL teams have been spotlighted on the preseason edition of the showgram. That includes two in 2020, when pandemic-limited availabilities dictated that both the Rams and the Chargers were featured.
FROM THAT SPOTTY DECADE, here are some facts:
• Of the 11, only three — the ’21 Cowboys, the ’20 Rams and the ’15 Texans — made the playoffs. None have appeared in a conference championship game.;
• Only four — add the ’22 Lions to the aforementioned trio — have finished above .500.;
• Four the 11 head coaches prominent in the summer stock were fired during the ensuing autumn or immediately after. That includes: Mike Smith (’14 Falcons), Jeff Fisher (’16 Rams), Hue Jackson (’18 Browns) and Anthony Lynn (’20 Chargers); and,
• To much ballyhoo last year, fresh arrival Aaron Rodgers and the Jets commanded the HBO August marquee. When the real NFL grind began in September, Rodgers lasted four snaps before blowing an Achilles tendon and slippin’ into darkness for the rest of his 19th pro campaign.
So the “Lente Loco” to Matt Eberflus and his potential new-mill shufflin’ crew: Beware the close-ups.
IN ITS HISTORY — which began with Ray Lewis, Tony Siragusa and the defending Super Bowl champion Ravens in 2001 — “Hard Knocks” has consistently boasted superior production values.
Current “HK” staff in Lake Forest will shoot close to 2,000 hours of video. From there, a platinum-gold crew at NFL Films will charge on the fly to stitch, edit and polish the final product.
The five-part series begins on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
But in the meantime, anyone thinking about tabbing the Bears to finish with more than 8 ½ wins this season may want to check their cursed light meter.
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DANDY EXISTENTIAL QUESTION for regional sports media chiefs: Which will be more important to mainstream Chicago-area readers in the next two weeks — coverage of the Paris Summer Olympics or focus on the Bears?
A sharp take comes from Bill Adee: “The Olympics have become a Netflix-era miniseries version of ‘The Thorn Birds.’ I don’t think you need a reporter to tell you what you watched on TV. Reporters provide more value covering the Bears’ perennial soap opera for a loyal readership.”
Now a green-felt founding father of Vegas Stats and Info (vsin.com), Adee was once a Daily Herald acolyte under the mythic Bill Gowen. He later gained lasting local media renown as sports editor of both the Sun-Times during its last golden run (1997-2002) and then a reshuffled department at the Chicago Tribune.
STREET-BEATIN’:
Intriguing note for departed-Bears watchers — Justin Fields has been taking starter’s snaps at Steelers camp while Russell Wilson nurses a calf injury. Some very smart NFL folks think Fields is going to flourish among the fresh clarity and tempered expectations of Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh. …
Hardest-core White Sox fans were all out of moans when expatriated Dylan Cease no-hit Washington on 114 pitches for the visiting Padres this week. Cease’s last three starts should make even Jerry Reinsdorf and short-leashed Chris Getz wince: 22 innings pitched, 2 hits allowed, 30 strikeouts. …
The Democratic National Convention is causing some disruption for the upcoming expansion of Stadium regional sports network. Stadium studios are housed at the United Center and all UC tenants have been ordered out in anticipation of the DNC (Aug. 19-22). Stadium is scheduled to become the new cable home of the Bulls, White Sox and Blackhawks later this year. (Jake Tapper will not hang around to work as an analyst.)…
Ernie Johnson — one of the truly beloved figures in national sports TV — has requested a leave from WBD / Turner for the remainder of the MLB season. He says it’s to address “personal matters.” Replacement is Greg Amsinger, who’ll work studio alongside Curtis Granderson, Pedro Martinez and Jimmy Rollins. (“The Grandyman,” a south suburban native of Chicago, used to prefer “Saved by the Bell” reruns over Cubs telecasts on WGN-Channel 9.) …
Back to HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” from archived Mike Tirico, of all people: “While it’s great for us as viewers, the show truly is intrusive to the internal team-building process.” (When did his candid-man chip kick in?) …
And Seine-snide Taylor Bell, on NBC’s upriver coverage of Friday’s opening Olympics ceremonies: “Kelly Clarkson and Peyton Manning couldn’t feel more out of place if they were in Paducah.”
• Jim O’Donnell’s Sports and Media column appears each week on Sunday and Thursday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.